What really constitutes on or off topic back links ?

Discussion in 'Link Development' started by mgford, Mar 13, 2008.

  1. #1
    Hi all,

    I've read various posts that state that back links are good but mainly if they are on topic. But what really constitutes on topic ?

    Does the backlinked site have to have the same keywords as your site or can it be more loosly connected and how can crawler really tell ?

    eg. If I have a site on Space, Science and Scienc fiction and one of my key words is Doctor Who. Does the backlinked site have to have the word Doctor Who to have any real value ? I have sites linking back to me which relate to telescopes and astro supplies. These are not keywords that I use on my site but they are still very relevant to the area covered by my site.

    If anyone could expand on this then that would be great.

    Cheers

    M.
     
    mgford, Mar 13, 2008 IP
  2. thenetfool

    thenetfool Active Member

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    #2
    You want the same topic focus. I wouldn't want my business blog to be listed on a medical website that targets a keyword like "medical supplies" for example.
    I would much rather be linked to a blog like FeedTheBull.com that targets keywords similar to mine.

    Links are generally cached better if they are relevant to the material on the website.
     
    thenetfool, Mar 13, 2008 IP
  3. gusthedog

    gusthedog Active Member

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    #3
    Keywords don't need to match. Google is expert at knowing what words are related to other words. Check out "Google Sets" and see for yourself.
     
    gusthedog, Mar 13, 2008 IP
  4. MikeBradbury

    MikeBradbury Peon

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    #4
    No link is a bad link, but the more relevant the page that is linking to you the better. It's not just the keywords either. Lets That the keyword you're going after is 'science fiction show'. Obviously, if these three words appear on the page from which you are receiving a link, it will bode well for you.

    however, based upon what is call 'Latent Semantic indexing', Google actually looks at similar terms. So if the page contains the word's Dr Who, Mystery Science Theatre 3000, and Star Trek, it will still benefit your page.
     
    MikeBradbury, Mar 13, 2008 IP
  5. sultanofseo

    sultanofseo Notable Member

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    #5
    its should be in the same neighborhood but dosn;t have to be exact same keyword or product page. if you are selling advil, then a site related to headache or migraine would be within the same neighborhood
     
    sultanofseo, Mar 13, 2008 IP
  6. mgford

    mgford Peon

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    #6
    OK, Got it. So Google or whoever will know that astronomy is related space and science even though the word astronomy is not mentioned on my site whatsoever.

    Much appreciated.

    Martin
     
    mgford, Mar 13, 2008 IP
  7. scamp81

    scamp81 Peon

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    #7
    Getting links from authority sites that have the similar keywords as yours will really shoot you up in page rank.
     
    scamp81, Mar 14, 2008 IP